1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communication devices that have more than one display and, more particularly, to managing the operation of those displays.
2. Background of the Invention
Many modern communication devices have an operating system that allows execution of software applications from third party vendors. Some mobile stations, for example, allow applications to be downloaded from Websites and executed within the communication device. In other cases, third party applications can be provided with the communication device as original equipment rather than as an “after-market” alternative.
Many of the applications available for communication devices are written to utilize a single visual display. A significant number of modern communication devices, however, have more than one display. A flip style mobile station is one example of a communication device that includes multiple displays. Typically, the communication device is configured with an external display that is visible to the user when the communication device is in the closed position and an internal display that is visible to the user only when the device is in the open position. The external display is often smaller in size than the internal display, though this need not be the case.
If an application is written to utilize only one display of the communication device, a situation may arise where the application is to notify a user of an event but is unable to access the other display. Consider the case of an alarm application that is configured to utilize only the internal display of the communication device. When an event occurs for which an alarm must be provided, the alarm application is only able to write data to the internal display of the communication device. If the communication device is in the closed position, the user is unable to view this data. Since the alarm application cannot access the external display, no information regarding the event is written to the external display. In consequence, the user may be unaware that an event has occurred or unaware of the nature of the event that has occurred.